It is the first time Hong Kong hoisted a typhoon signal no. 8 in October since 1995， where the region's typhoon season runs mainly in summer.

Winds over Hong Kong will turn to the southwest gradually this afternoon and the no. 8 signal is expected to remain in force most of the time during the day， the observatory said in its latest typhoon warning bulletin.

The Hong Kong Airport Authority said that a total of 689 passenger flights have been cancelled and delayed as at 6.30 a.m.

Local airline Cathay Pacific said in a statement that Haima will be causing significant disruptions for flights to and from Hong Kong from approximately 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. today. Flights after 10:00 p.m. on Friday are subject to delays due to air traffic constraints.

Flight schedule is expected to resume normal from 6 a.m. on Saturday， according to the airport authority's Airport Operations Executive Director Ng Chi-kee， who called upon passengers to check with their airlines before heading to the airport.

Railway transportation is also interrupted， with direct trains going to and from Guangzhou and Shanghai suspended; while local rail lines provide limited services. Most buses and ferries services are suspended.

Hong Kong Education Bureau announced that all classes of all schools are suspended. All clinics under the Hospital Authority are closed， while Accident and Emergency services at public hospitals remain normal.

The Judiciary said that all hearings of the courts and tribunals will remain adjourned today.

Hong Kong's stock and futures market and the gold market are suspended. Hong Kong Ocean Park and Disneyland are also closed due to bad weather.

At least 23 cases of tree collapse were reported in the morning. The Home Affairs Department has so far opened 20 temporary shelters in various districts.

, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The United States is on the brink of making another grave mistake under the name of protecting cyber security, as it is reportedly considering retaliatory measures against China for unfounded hacking accusations.

Senior U.S. government and intelligence officials were quoted by a U.S. newspaper as saying Friday that President Barack Obama's administration has determined to retaliate against China for its alleged theft of personnel information of more than 20 million Americans from the database of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), but the forms and specific measures of the retaliation have not been decided.

The report added that Obama has allegedly ordered his staff to come up with "a more creative set of responses

," while a U.S. official hinted that the United States will employ "a full range of tools to tailor a response."

The decision came amid a growing chorus in the United States demonizing China as the culprit behind the massive breach of the OPM computer networks. As witnessed by most past similar cases, the U.S. government, Congress and media once again called for punishing China for this after a top U.S. intelligence official indirectly pointed a finger at China.

, Washington apparently tries to portray Beijing as the No. 1 bad guy in cyber space, but this is doomed to fail because the United States is the most powerful country with the most advanced cyber technologies.

As exposed by former U.S. defense contractor Edward Snowden, the U.S. government has been notoriously and blatantly engaged in worldwide surveillance operations against numerous other countries. To divert criticism against its relentless espionage activities

By heating up the issue of the OPM hacking, Washington perhaps also aims to pressure China to restore the bilateral cyber work group which was suspended last year after Washington sued five Chinese military officers on so-called charges of commercial espionage despite strong protests from China.

China has repeatedly stated that it is against all forms of cyber attacks and will crack down on them, as it has long been a major victim of such illegal activities

China has also called for conducting cooperation with the U.S. side and any other country to protect cyber security and its peaceful order.

Just like protecting its territorial sovereignty and integrity, China is strongly determined to protect the safety of its cyber space and reserves all rights to counter any outside threats and intrusions. It will meet any form of political or economic retaliation with corresponding countermeasures

The United States, which made a mistake last year with its false charges against the Chinese officers

, should not repeat the mistake by taking retaliatory measures against China over the OPM incident.

If it stubbornly implements retaliatory measures against China in cyber space, it will be known for being a cyber bully and will have to shoulder responsibility for escalating confrontation and disrupting the peaceful order in the cyber space. <.